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Flames
(< Previous Chapter) - (Next Chapter >) Judus' POV Judus loved Calthoss. He really, really did. Loved her like she was his own blood. Though he had none. He still remembered days gone by when he would stroke her hair, and she would sob softly into his shoulder. Her father, her mother, her brother, her Duke. All gone. In the blink of an eye. Wickedly, he missed those days. They were shortly before Cal learned of her "abilities." At least when she was hurt, and in pain, she wasn't dangerous. Now she was. He, and he alone, had noticed the black star over the sky that day. He wondered what it meant, but he didn't bring it up to the grief-stricken girl in his lap. He wondered what dark tidings it would bring, or if it had already brought them. He secretly cursed it, and toasted to its disappearance not long after. Though he toasted alone. He ignored incoming letters inquiring about the black star. He would not acknowledge it. Just as he would refuse her powers. He despised magicks and the supernatural, and he did not wish to entangle himself in that star or her flames. Then one day, that day, the black star returned. It once more brought dark tidings, this he knew. For a certainty, he knew. And this time, Cal hid her pain and hurt behind the façade of a pyromaniacal monster, and that behind another façade, that of a hopeful revolutionary. But Judus knew the truth of it all. Underneath, there was a smart, curious girl. A girl who loved her dragon, who loved tinkering with the spyglass, who had worn out his library books. A girl who missed her grandfather. A girl who missed being told about the old world. A girl who loved stories of knights, and wyzards. Her favorite was, is, and always has been Tinder Tender and the Tyrant. Judus loved to turn to that story in the fairy tales. He'd always noticed that it was especially worn out compared to the other stories. She continued reading it well into her young adulthood. He smiled when he thought of it. Now, he was sat on a grey, underfed, and tired palfrey. They were two days into their trip. The previous night had been cold, and tiresome. Cal suddenly remembered that they would need gasmasks should the black star be above the deadwood grove. Deadwood is poisonous to lungs, sowing into it the seeds of cancer. This, at least, was well-understood by the learned. Their spies had told them of some grey priests wandering into the deadwood forest a few days prior, and those men had never returned. He wondered if they or their evil god was responsible for this. They went back to Calthoss' Cave, and lost half a day's ride. 'At least Lightning seems the happier for it,' Judus thought to himself. Cal's dragon was a handsome beast, with a proud reptilian look about him. His eyes were narrow, and yellow, and had a predatory gleam to them. He stood taller than a man, with human-sized arms of pure muscle and claw protruding from his chest. His hind legs were huge, and muscled, with monstrous talons. His tail was long, like a whip. And of course, his horns were black as midnight, and would put any hornman to shame. Cal was already wearing her gasmask. 'Yet another façade to hide behind,' Judus thought. The rest of the guardsmen, and farmhands looked equally tired. 'It seems that the black star is most like above the deadwood grove, or perhaps past it on Fools' Point.' That was at least another seven days of riding. Then the ground began shaking. All the hairs on Judus' neck stood straight. He knew what it was. Drawings, photos, passages, histories, and descriptions all flashed in his mind. Tallmen. And then he saw Cal. Just eight years old, with no father, no mother, no brother, and no grandfather. He saw her cry. And then he heard himself screaming, "RUN CAL!" A giant humanoid with pale skin, no face, giant black claws, and nine massive tails appeared over the horizon. It was running their way on all fours, faster than anything Judus had ever seen. The ground shook, and he could already see the beast's footprints. 'A Sinister King. The very worst of tallmen.' It roared without a mouth. From the corner of his eye he could see a few of the guardsmen, and farmhands fleeing. Most were unmoving, just like him. They were enraptured by the terror before them. "Bowmen! Archers! Get ready to fire!" Cal shouted. Even she looked somewhat nervous, though none of it got to her voice. Judus prayed this would work. The beginnings of a plan were starting to form in his mind. A few men obeyed her orders. They dipped their arrows in water. "Nock!" Cal shouted. She narrowed her eyes. "Hold," she said. A few seconds passed, and she extended her arm out, "LOOSE!" The Sinister King, the only sort of intelligence among the tallmen, did its best to dodge, crashing into the ground, and kicking up a cloud of dust. "Ready your oil," Cal said once again. Her men dipped their arrows in oil, and put them to the torch. "Nock!" "Hold." The tallman pounced out of the cloud of dust with a vengeful roar. "FIRE!" Cal shouted. The flaming arrows hit the tallman all at once, setting flame to his wet skin. A small spark lit. Then it became a small explosion, then all at once his skin erupted in a raging inferno of fire. The tallman exploded, leaving a massive burnt crater in his place. Smoke filled the sky. "Water and fire alone are all that can kill a tallman," Judus said under his breath. The King-that-Kills-Kings had once said that. He had earned his nickname by killing sinister kings, and black kings - the average everyday tallmen. As a boy, he became the first human to kill a tallman. And ever since he had waged a war for conquest to the end of killing all tallmen. "Put your gasmasks on, men," Cal commanded. She smiled with pride. "We're going hunting for deserters," she said, nocking her arrow. She surely meant the men who had fled upon seeing the tallmen. "My lady, I'm not sure that it very wise," Judus spoke up. "And why is that?" Cal asked, honestly. "My lady... they feared being eaten alive! By what brought the great Delkish Empire to its knees. Have mercy please, they are just green boys," Judus answered. "And besides, they may have mistaken by plea for you to run for some sort of order." "Oh," Cal said, thinking about it. Judus saw something strange in her eyes. "All is forgiven then." "Sir Roben, de-body Master Judus." Judus' eyes widened. He felt all-encompassing fear. Not for himself, but for Cal. He recognized that look now. She was struggling internally. She both wanted to kill him for his perceived insolence, and also wanted to spare him because he was as a surrogate grandfather to her. "Please my lady, don't. You will regret this. I know you," he said, as Roben took him. "My lady, you are not your brother Billow. You do not kill family." Judus knew it was a mistake once it left his lips. Cal's face scrunched up in anger, and she nodded at Roben. Judus was thrown down on his knees, and a sword was brought down on his nape. (< Previous Chapter) - (Next Chapter >) Category:Tale of Zul Category:Chapters